Over the past 6 weeks, we've been experimenting with a variety of terrain ideas in Riverbend. We've had overwelmingly positive feedback, and it's kept the fighting fun and fresh for everyone, even grizzled old vets who've been there, done that. We mark off different terrain using a combination of orange soccer cones and that cheap yellow polypropylene rope held down by cheap yellow tent pegs from walmart (pounded flush to the ground so they are not a hazard). Here are the ideas we've been using.

ForestThick underbrush and low-hanging branches make missile weapons useless, and also bog down anyone trying to pass through this area. (The bottoms of both feet must remain on the ground at all times while in the forest, and missile weapons may not be fired into our out of the forest).

Bamboo ForestThere just isn't enough room to swing in here, but you can still stab, at least over short distances. (No missile weapons, stabs only)

MarshYou're up to your knees in thick, stinky water. (Knee-movement only, and legs are immune to everything)

CliffImagine a good 10' cliff. (The only weapons that can fight over the cliff boundary are missile weapons and two-handers. Movement is prohibited across the cliff boundary, although if you designate a high-side, you could allow one-way movement, provided the fighter goes to both knees upon crossing, to simulate the rough landing)

Magma/ChasmWhether it is scalding hot magma or just an open pit, stepping on the rope that demarcates this boundary leads to instant death. Step lightly!

Islands/PillarsIslands in a great sea of magma. This scenario has to be laid out wisely or else the choke points get to be waaaaaay too well defended. It is best to have long parallel edges between the islands so that you don't end up with little areas that one person with a shield can defend indefinitely.

LakesUse the field you just set up for islands, but reverse it. Now you have a bunch of lakes that create interesting barriers to free movement.

BridgesEveryone already knows how these work. But you can combine the bridges with other types of terrain, multiple bridges, etc.

We've been combining these field layout ideas with traditional (and non-traditional) objectives, such as capture the flag, kill the monarch, etc. and it's been a lot of fun. Please feel free to post your own ideas so we can add to our list.

Similar to your island/lakes scenarios was this cool bridge style that Crowe from Byzantium ran during Byzantium's Opener this year.

He did a bunch of variations with this layout that was super fun. My favorite was a CTF/Pylon battle where each team had a flag in one corner and a pylon in the other, and each team spawned at the halfway point in between their two. A flag capture was worth 3 points, and knocking over the enemies pylon was worth 1 point. With the numerous choke points and routes, the game was never allowed to go static. Loved it.

_________________Realm of Carthage War Council RepresentativeSquire to Sir Morpheus of Wolfpack of the High PlainsRealm Map Curator

That's awesome. We actually are going to run something similar at practice this weekend, except we're using "relics" which spawn every 90 seconds in the middle of the field. You have to get them back to your base, but they can be stolen as well by an enemy that stands in your base for a 10-count. Our field is going to be laid out just like that, except that at the corners where the bases & respawn points are, there will be little cul-de-sacs with choke points so you have a little better chance of being able to defend your base if you happen to be the team with a lot of relics.

The pylon idea is a good one. I've been trying to figure out how to make one that is sturdy/heavy enough to stand up even on grass, but can be knocked down easily with a javelin or arrow. Then you could run simple scenarios like kill the king, except that it would be "knock down the pylon." I think that would give speedy-type fighters a big advantage for that game.

These are used in football to mark the four corners of the goal zone. They're free standing, weighted, and come in a pack of four. They're only 18" high, but they could prove to be useful as relics/pylons/markers, etc. For a pack of 4, the price doesn't seem too unreasonable, if a realm were to find the investment worthwhile.

_________________Realm of Carthage War Council RepresentativeSquire to Sir Morpheus of Wolfpack of the High PlainsRealm Map Curator